Monday, October 29, 2018

New pop-up cocktail bar coming to Universal Orlando, Miami, and 15 other Loews hotels this winter

With the holiday season now rivaling summer as the busiest time of the year for some local theme parks, many area hotels make sure to add extra activities for the influx of guests. One of the most anticipated additions this year is at Universal Orlando’s Loews hotels.

From now through mid-January select Loews hotels around the nation, including three at Universal Orlando, will host a nightly pop-up, The Bellhop Bar, in their lobbies.

“As we enter into the extended holiday season, we wanted to create a cocktail promotion that evokes a wistful affection for the past, helps guests toast the season of celebrations and is aligned with our food & beverage point of view at Loews,” said Mark Weiss, senior vice president of food & beverage for Loews Hotels. “The Bellhop Bar by Loews Hotels delivers a thoughtfully unscripted experience for our guests, nodding to the adventures of travelers from eras ago, and providing them with an opportunity to indulge in locally-handcrafted cocktails across the portfolio.”

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Image via Loews Hotels

Each of the 19 locations for the Bellhop Bar will celebrate locally inspired cocktails. The pre-made cocktails and domestic wines will be stored in antique apothecary-style bottles in a steamer trunk that becomes the bar each evening between 5 and 7. A press release from Loews promises an “opening bell ritual” each evening.

The three local hotels that will be hosting the Bellhop Bar will be Loews Portofino Bay Hotel in the Bar American area in the main lobby, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort in the Strong Water Tavern, and Loews Royal Pacific Resort in the Orchid Court Lounge. Each will have a unique cocktail. The Italian-themed Portofino Bay Hotel has the “Magari No. 2” featuring Hangar One vodka, lemon juice, limoncello and basil leaves. The Royal Pacific Resort keeps with their South Pacific theme with a lychee cocktail, the “Royal Lycheetini,” that includes Hangar One vodka, raspberries, and lychee and lemon juice. “Island Envy” at Sapphire Falls switches out the rum the bar is known for with an American bourbon. Angel’s Envy Kentucky Bourbon is mixed with Fee Brothers orange bitters and Demerara syrup.

The Bellhop Bar can be viewed as the next evolution of Loews Hotels’ former pop-up experience; The Traveller Bar. Using an old elevator car, the Traveller Bar had a large metal frame that required construction at each location and only allowed for a single location at a time. After a two-year run with 24 stops, the Traveller Bar made its final one at Universal Orlando in late 2017, remaining open through the beginning of this year.

In 2016, when announcing the Traveller Bar, Weiss stated the Loews was looking to help “educate, share and expand our creative food and beverage culture” while also shaking up the modern-day drinking culture. That same focus on bringing unique new experiences to the bar scene is part of the inspiration to this latest offering by the company.

Details on all 19 locations can be found on the Loews Hotel website while more information other offerings unique to Universal Orlando can be found on their website. The Bellhop Bars will remain open daily until mid-January.